


Boys that marry

by chelouple28



Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24031264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelouple28/pseuds/chelouple28
Summary: Boys that marry stay together forever, or that's what Lucas tells Eliott.Eliott thinks his best friend might be on to something.
Relationships: Eliott Demaury/Lucas Lallemant
Comments: 62
Kudos: 317





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello i hope this will cheer some people up 🥺
> 
> based on [this picture](https://www.instagram.com/p/B_p42KJgUVq/?igshid=haaddwk3hybg) of maxence, becuase he's a dork and i couldn't help myself. 
> 
> happy reading! take care, stay safe ❤️

There’s a new boy living across his nana’s apartment. He’s blond and he’s very small but he has very big eyes. That’s what he tells his nana when he first sees him, tugging at her sleeve to catch her attention, as the little boy rushes out of the apartment across his nana’s with a truck in his hand.

His nana smiles kindly at the woman standing outside the door, who smiles back at her. She nudges Eliott a little, bending down to whisper “That’s Lucas, honey. Do you want to go say hello?”

Eliott nods enthusiastically, because finally, finally he has someone he can share his coloring books with when he’s at his nana’s. Maybe Lucas likes watching cartoons after nap time too! And they can go to the park together, so Eliott won’t be on the slides all alone anymore. He hates playing alone.

“Hello!” 

Lucas lifts his head up from where he was rolling his truck on the stairway, and, whoa. His eyes are really blue. Like the sky blue shade in his crayons box. The boy looks at him a little blankly when Eliott thrusts his hand forward, like his papa has taught him to do.

“I’m Eliott.” He beams. “I’m 7, and I love drawing and petting my neighbor’s puppy.”

Lucas stares at him silently, for long enough that Eliott’s smile begins to slip away. Maybe he doesn’t like dogs? Then Eliott doesn’t want to be his friend, anyway. His best friend’s little sister says you can't trust someone who doesn’t like dogs, and she’s very smart.

He’s contemplating turning around, a little disappointed that he isn’t making a new friend today, when Lucas’ face breaks into a wide grin.

“I’m Lucas! I love puppies too! But my mama won’t let me have one…” He trails off sadly, sucking into his bottom lip. “Do you think your neighbor would let me pet their puppy?”

Eliott’s eager yes! earns him an exasperated look from his nana, but it’s so worth it, he thinks, worth it just to see the way Lucas’ face lights up like a Christmas tree at his words. 

And that’s the beginning.

* * *

So it turned out Eliott didn’t have to worry about Lucas’ taste at all. Because Lucas loves coloring, although he goes over the line sometimes and accidentally cracked his purple crayon in half once. And he doesn’t like watching cartoons, but he still goes over to his nana’s every Tuesday and Thursday after Eliott gets home from school, and he lets Eliott touch his hair until they fall asleep in his nana’s big bed. Eliott really likes Lucas’ hair.

The sun is finally coming back after a week of rain. Eliott is excited to go out today, he’s missed playing with the sand, which is what he tells Lucas as he drags the little boy into the street by the hand, Lucas’ mama trailing right behind them. 

Lucas laughs behind him, his sand bucket full and rattling loudly when they run towards the empty park. 

There isn’t anyone here today, which doesn’t really surprise Eliott, because he has never seen any kids running around here. It used to make him sad, his nana’s eyes full of sympathy every time he would stare at the ground and mumble that it’s okay, he can build a sandcastle without anyone’s help anyway. But he doesn’t care anymore, because Lucas is with him now. 

Despite having the whole park to themselves, they plop themselves down on the same spot inside the sandbox. It’s later than Eliott thought, and so it’s starting to get a little dark already. He can't see very well inside the windows of the apartment building anymore, and the wind is cold when it blows on their faces.

Eliott purses his lips, eyebrows knitted together as he watches Lucas, who’s filling the bucket with sand. His cheeks are getting pink from the cold, and he sniffs a little after a big whoosh of wind ruffles their hair, so Eliott doesn’t think twice before taking off his scarf and wrapping it around Lucas.

“Here.” He says, holding both ends of the scarf and wrapping them around Lucas. Lucas blinks, startled, only his eyes peeking out from under the scarf. They’re a darker blue today, like his papa’s car. “So you don’t get cold.”

“Oh.” Lucas’ voice comes muffled, and Eliott has to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. Lucas frowns, looking down at the scarf before pulling it down his chin. “Thank you.”

And then he’s inching closer to Eliott, planting a rushed kiss on his cheek. 

Blood warms Eliott’s cheeks, a blush that he feels spreading all the way down to his shoulders. He stares at Lucas, who looks as surprised as Eliott feels, unable to help the giddy smile that splits his face in two.

Lucas rolls his eyes a little, grumbling. “What?”

Sometimes he gets like this, especially when he’s tired or nervous. Pouts around, rolls his eyes at Eliott with a grumpy little face that Eliott finds very endearing. 

He just learnt that word at school last month. His teacher explained it to him as “that feeling you get in your belly when you see a little dog in the street”, because his teacher knows he likes dogs a lot, and Eliott had understood. And then he’d realized it applied to Lucas, too.

Eliott shrugs, beaming. “Nothing.” And then, “You kissed me.”

“On the cheek.” 

“Yes.” Eliott nods cheerily. “You did.”

Lucas squints his eyes. “So what?”

“Why did you do it?”

Eliott sees Lucas’ cheeks flush under the scarf, and this time it isn’t from the cold. 

Lucas averts his gaze, drawing circles in his legs quietly, as if he’s pondering over something, before facing Eliott shyly. “I don’t know.” He mumbles. “Mama said that’s what you do when you love someone a lot lot.”

He looks at Eliott expectantly.

“Oh, alright.” Eliott says. He jumps up from his seat, pressing a loud kiss to Lucas’ forehead in return. “Now we’re even.”

Lucas’ eyes are a little dazed when Eliott sits back again, but he shakes himself out of it quickly, nodding jerkily. “Now we’re even.”

Eliott thinks it’s the end of the conversation as he watches Lucas resume back to his sand filling task, so he does the same. But then Lucas’ voice sounds again, softer than before, and Eliott has no choice but to listen carefully. 

“Mama also said,” Lucas starts. “She said that those people, they get married, if they love each other a lot lot. And then they can live in the same house, and get a dog.”

“That sounds nice.”

Lucas nods. “It does. And… And boys that marry, they don’t have to leave their nana’s houses before dinner. So they don’t have to miss each other when they’re gone.”

“Lucas,” 

“And they can also nap together forever, and color books until they run out of them.”

Eliott sets his eyes on Lucas, waiting patiently until Lucas returns his gaze. And when he does, Eliott says in the most serious tone he can muster, “Then we'll get married, so I can stay with you every day.”

“Promise?” 

Lucas’ eyes are brimmed with hope, his face lit up with joy, and there’s a feeling inside his belly that isn’t endearment, he knows that much, because it’s warmer, and nicer, and he doesn’t really understand, but he makes a mental note to ask his teacher about it tomorrow morning. Now though, he has a promise to make.

He lifts his hand towards Lucas, hooks their fingers together, and squeezes. “Promise.”

When they have to go home, it’s dark out, and his parents are waiting for him at nana’s. He makes sure to squeeze Lucas extra tight before he disappears behind the door, sad that he has to leave again, and asks his parents if he can sleep over at Lucas’ next weekend. His parents say yes, and he makes them call Lucas’ mama the next day so he can tell Lucas himself. 

When he asks about the warmth in his belly at school, his teacher calls it love.

* * *

There’s a boy in his bed. He’s no longer blond, but his eyes are still as bright as they were when Eliott saw them for the first time. His body is a familiar shape under the covers, the blanket draped over their laps draws the curve of his waist, and his face is illuminated by the laptop between them.

Things have changed now, but they also haven’t. 

They haven’t, in the way that Lucas still sleeps in his bed more often than not. In the smell of his clothes, and the softness of his hair when Eliott buries his nose in it. It feels like nothing’s changed, because they’re still Lucas and Eliott, and Eliott still draws for Lucas, and Lucas still shoots daggers at anyone who dares cough in Eliott’s direction.

At the same time, everything’s different.

They’re not kids playing pretend anymore, for once. Actions have consequences now, they’ve both learnt it the hard way. Lucas stays at Eliott’s house, in Eliott’s bed, and this time it’s not because they’re allowed to watch cartoons until dinner, but because his mama throws vases against walls and screams at Lucas when he gets home from school. Eliott draws for Lucas, and it’s not the color of the sky that reminds him of Lucas’ eyes, but the words that he can’t quite figure out how to say out loud.

Everything’s different. 

They can reach the bottom of the mattress with the tips of their toes. Lucas drinks beer at parties, and when it turns his cheeks pink and his smile bigger, Eliott feels warmth in his belly, but also between his legs. Sleepovers still have shitty movies, but it also has a joint or two, and when Lucas’ sleeping shirt rides up one inch, Eliott’s mouth goes dry.

And Eliott is bipolar. 

But Lucas didn’t leave, so it’s different, but it also isn’t.

“This movie is shit.” Lucas says off-handedly halfway through.

Eliott is honestly surprised it took him this long to comment on it. He doesn’t have the energy to muster up a good argument, a little because nothing he says will save the movie from being absolute trash, but mostly because today is the first day he felt strong enough to shower.

He feels bad about having Lucas here with him. Eliott doesn’t know what time is it, he lost track of time days ago, so now it’s only “moments Lucas is here” and “moments Lucas isn’t here”. Despite all predictions, there’s been a good amount of Lucas is here moments. 

Eliott had tried to stop him at the beginning, because it’s summer, and no 16 year old boy should be wasting away his summer afternoons in a smelly room with the curtains drawn closed, an empty boy sleeping in the middle of the bed.

Lucas had only glared at him before taking his shoes off, curling his body against Eliott’s quietly when he got in bed. Eliott hadn’t showered in five days then, but Lucas hadn’t seemed to care when he had kissed his forehead before burying his words in Eliott’s hair.

“There’s no such thing as wasting my summer away, as long as I’m wasting it with you. That’s enough for me.”

And now they’re here.

It had been Lucas himself the one who insisted on watching a movie, taking Eliott’s laptop from the desktop and clicking on what Eliott thinks was a random choice before laying down in bed with him. 

Eliott knows Lucas doesn’t expect an answer, he never does when Eliott is like this. Still, he turns his body towards Lucas, a twitch of a smile playing in his lips. Lucas doesn’t turn to look at him, engrossed in the screen in front of them, frowning like the movie has personally offended him.

He knows Lucas does it because he knows how much the attention can drain Eliott. Eliott loves him so much.

“Seriously, Eli. Are you seeing this?” Lucas gestures wildly. “He thinks that just by marrying her he’s gonna solve all of her problems? Like, what, now that she has a ring around her finger her mother will magically love her? That’s bullshit. This whole idealized marriage illusion is bullshit.”

His words make Eliott’s eyebrows shoot up. He sits up with his back leaning on the bed’s headboard.

“You don’t wanna get married?” His voice sounds a little hoarse when he speaks, so he reaches for the glass of water Lucas had left on the bedside table earlier.

If Lucas is surprised by Eliott's interaction, he doesn't show it. He shrugs, eyes still on the screen. 

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” His words sound final, bitter. “I mean, look at my mama and dad, right? What does marriage even mean? A promise written on paper, a promise of what? Commitment? Love? A mutual decision to keep each other company until the next best thing comes along? 51.2% of marriages in France end in divorce. Everyone wants to get married, but no one ever knows what promise they’re making.”

“Wow.” Eliott breathes “That’s deep.”

Lucas huffs, and the laptop light shines on the small smile on his face. He turns. “You?” 

In different circumstances that stare would’ve made his heart beat loudly against his chest. As it is now, he feels a faint beating in his fingertips. “Maybe.” He says slowly. “It would be nice.” And then, “Boys that marry get to adopt puppies, right?”

Eliott sees how Lucas’ expression turns softer, the corner of his lips turning up slightly as he stares at the hands fiddling in his lap. He’s beautiful like this, in a room full of darkness, wearing one of Eliott’s t-shirts, smiling down at his hands from something that Eliott said. 

Eliott’s insides twitch with fondness.

“Boys that marry get to adopt puppies.” Lucas agrees in a murmur, almost like he’s saying the words to himself. He’s quiet for a minute, a minute that Eliott uses to lay down again, almost certain that the conversation is done for today, when he faces Eliott again. “Hey, Eli?”

Eliott closes his eyes. “Yeah?”

“I think that,” Lucas pauses, “that if it was a boy marrying me, maybe I would like that.”

Eliott hides his smile on the pillow, and then he’s saying “me, too.”

He hears Lucas’ sharp intake of breath. 

“But Lucille…?”

“I don’t care about that.” He shrugs. “Gender.”

“Oh. That’s chill.”

He hears the lid of his laptop being closed off, and then there’s a weight next to his head on the pillow that wasn’t there before. He wriggles closer to Lucas wordlessly until there’s an arm around his waist.

“Do you like any boys?” He can’t help but ask, although he thinks he knows already. 

Lucas doesn’t flinch when he answers. “Yeah, I think I do.” He plays with the hem of Eliott’s shirt. It’s comforting, the gesture lulling Eliott to sleep. “You?”

There’s a dead weight in his limbs, and the sleep tugs at him from behind his eyelids, but he wills himself to stay awake enough to answer.

“Same.”

Lucas doesn’t kiss him then, but his hand sneaks under Eliott’s t-shirt. His fingers draw colorless hearts on Eliott’s hip, and neither of them moves.

It’s okay. It isn’t their time yet.

* * *

It’s three months later, when the color has returned to Eliott’s face and laughter hurts his sides, that their time comes. 

They were at a party, the fourth one in the past four weeks, because Eliott is new at school, the mysterious third year that is one year older than everyone, and Lucas is adamant he socializes. So partying every weekend it is. 

Eliott doesn’t really mind. He can’t drink much anymore, and Lucas only drinks one or two beers now, to show his support. He says he doesn’t need to get drunk to have fun anymore, now that Eliott is here with him. He’s the sweetest boy Eliott knows. 

So it’s okay, because Lucas’ group of friends is nice to him, and although they’re here so Eliott can make friends Lucas doesn’t detach himself from his side all night. 

Walking home, their pinkies had been intertwined together between their bodies as they stumbled around a little in the sidewalk, not because they were drunk, but because Lucas would separate them as far as their hold would allow them, before tugging at Eliott’s arm, making him collide against his side.

It was cold, a dark October night, when Eliott’s loud laugh had echoed through an empty neighbor as Lucas almost walked into a streetlight. And Lucas had stopped to watch him, as Eliott laughed and laughed, before he’d taken two long strides towards Eliott.

Cupping his cheek, he had said, “I’m so in love with you, you have no idea.”

And then they had kissed.

“You think you’re so cool, huh?” Lucas says into his mouth now. They’re in Eliott’s bed, like every other Saturday, except Eliott gets to kiss him any time he wants now. “Eliott Demuary, public vandal and mysterious art boy who posts cryptic shit on instagram,” Eliott laughs under him, squeezing his hips, and Lucas grins. “When in fact he’s a dubstep dork who just wanted to post a picture of his boyfriend sleeping?”

Eliott shrugs unapologetically, beaming up at Lucas. “You love it, admit it.”

“No,” Lucas denies. He has stars in his eyes, and his hair flies everywhere when he shakes his head. He places one hand on Eliott’s collarbone, bending down until their noses touch. “I love you.”

“And I love you.”

Lucas’ eyes turn into crescent moons when he smiles, and he brushes the tip of his nose down the bridge of Eliott’s. “I love you more.” 

“Impossible.” Eliott whispers. He presses a soft kiss to Lucas’ lips, then to his cheek, tilting his chin up, scattering little kisses all over Lucas’ face. 

Lucas giggles, tucks his chin to his chest as Eliott’s lips tickle the side of his face, a sound high and so beautiful that he hopes the neighbors heard, just so that they know how happy he makes this boy in his bed. How happy they make each other. 

Eliott’s hands smooth down from Lucas’ waist to his thighs, and he laughs when Lucas pushes his face away with his hand, licking it in the process.

Lucas sits on Eliott’s stomach, looking down at him with a disgusted face. “You’re disgusting.” He states, drying his hand on Eliott’s t-shirt. Eliott grins lazily, blowing him a kiss, and it only takes a wriggle of his eyebrows for Lucas to roll his eyes before he’s gripping the front of his t-shirt, pulling him up. “You’re a disgusting, smug little shit, and I hate you.”

Eliott wraps his arms around Lucas’ middle, pulls him closer to his chest, pressing his grin against Lucas’. “You lying, liar who lies.”

“Whatever.” It isn’t his strongest comeback, but the heels digging into Eliott’s back makes up for the lack of words.

Eliott smiles amusedly, tightening his grip across Lucas’ back, his fingers tucked under the waistband of Lucas’ underwear. Lucas returns his smile, a lot more wickedly and knowingly, heat in his eyes as he loop his arms around Eliott’s neck, and slots their lips together. 

It’s a back and forth of mouths sliding together, Lucas playfully nipping at Eliott’s lower lip and Eliott brushing his tongue across the roof of Lucas’ mouth in response. Lucas twists his head, and his bottom lip catches between Eliott’s teeth, making them both gasp. 

“So you say boys who marry can get a house together,” Eliott pants. Lucas presses his thumbs under his jaw, and Eliott’s eyes flutter closed. “But what’s the package for boys who kiss?”

Lucas pulls away enough to look at Eliott in the eye, tip of his tongue peeking out of his mouth when he smirks.

“I can think of a few things.”

The hurried kiss that Eliott gives him makes Lucas laugh into his mouth, and then they’re falling, falling, falling, tumbling down the bed in each other’s arms. 

It’s the best morning Eliott’s ever had.

* * *

It’s meant to be an innocent question, Eliott knows.

They’re on the other side of France, celebrating the summer solstice under the moon. There’s a big blanket under them, a chair that Yann had insisted on bringing digs into his back if he leans backwards, and the sound of the waves crashing in the shore fills the silence.

It’s starting to get a bit chilly, but still warm enough in the way summer nights are, so they don’t really need a jacket. Still, Eliott buries himself in Lucas’ side, planting a kiss to Lucas’ neck before hiding his face in the crook of his shoulder. He feels Lucas’ laugher against his cheek, and smiles to himself contently. 

Arthur turns off the flashlight on his phone, because he’s running out of battery, but also because the moonlight is enough to shine light on their hand-made cocoon. It’s a quiet night. Small talk, quiet chattering that Eliott isn’t paying attention to, a joint being passed around the group. 

Every time it gets to Lucas, he takes a big hit before passing it over to Yann behind Eliott’s head. And then he tilts Eliott’s chin up, coaxing his mouth open with two fingers to his jaw, before exhaling the smoke in his mouth. Because he doesn’t smoke much these days; this way he doesn’t overdo it, and Lucas is a very considerate boyfriend. 

Lucas’ breath taste sweet in his mouth when their lips brush together, and his tongue is playing with Lucas’ when Yann speaks.

“Why aren’t you two married yet?”

Eliott whines when Lucas pulls back to stare at Yann, and it takes him a second to register the question. 

When he does, he’s already come up with very reasonable arguments to explain how Lucas isn’t done with school yet, and they don’t even have the economic stability required to organize a proper wedding right now. That him and Lucas, they had decided from the first day that they’d take life minute by minute, and they’re comfortable with the status of their relationship at the moment.

But then Lucas is looking at him, a glint in his eye that never fails to set his blood on fire, and says

“Yeah baby, why aren’t we?” 

Eliott chokes on the smoke in his lungs, like a fucking amateur. Lucas rubs his back until he stops coughing, and no one comments on it. 

When he turns to look at Lucas, and he’s sure he must look like a lunatic, with the way his heart is threatening to beat out of his chest, Lucas only shrugs happily, wrapping his arm around Eliott’s shoulders again.

“I’m just saying,” Yann continues “that you two are the most in love motherfuckers I’ve ever met. It’s actually embarrassing to see, it’s been what, 5 years? And every time I see Lucas puppy eyes when Eliott is standing across the room gives me second-hand embarrassment.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t tied the knot yet.” Basile chips in. “Or maybe they have! Did you get hitched and never told anyone? That’s harsh, man.”

Eliott doesn’t need to look at Lucas to know he’s rolling his eyes.

“No Bas, we didn’t get married and told no one.”

That conversation ends there, everyone moving on to other topics like how much would it cost to fill a pool with water balloons, and Eliott stops paying attention after that. Instead, he lifts his head up from Lucas’ shoulder.

He stares at Lucas’ profile, at the shadows his eyelashes create on his cheekbones, and the slope of his nose, and the little dimple that appears when the corners of his mouth raise slightly, and he can’t help but press his lips to Lucas’ cheek.

Eliott snuggles back against Lucas’ shoulder when Lucas’ smile widens, satisfied, and lets Lucas grab his hand. He pulls it on his lap, turns it over, running his fingers up and down his palm. Then he’s brushing Eliott’s fourth knuckle slowly, and Eliott smiles harder.

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe they don’t need the money or the jobs, as long as it’s Lucas standing at the end of the aisle. He thinks about calling Lucas his fiancé, his husband, and maybe Eliott is starting to be a little less okay with the status of their relationship.

Much, much later, when the world starts to get brighter, and they’re walking back to their airbnb, Eliott pushes Lucas against a streetlight. Lucas tilts his head to one side curiously, but doesn’t ask any questions, cupping Eliott’s hips.

“So you wanna get married, then?”

A ray of sunlight falls on Lucas’ smile. “Gotta get that dog you promised me 15 years ago, don’t I?”

“I’m pretty sure that was all you, baby.”

“Still.”

“So we’re doing this then?”

Lucas bridges the distance between them, kissing him softly. “We’re doing this.”

“Okay,” And then, “By the way, if you think this counts as a marriage proposal, you’re wrong. I’m gonna woo you so hard you’ll cry. Just you wait.”

Lucas only laughs, loud and hard, and he knows he would call Eliott a sap and say it’s scientifically impossible, but Eliott swears the street turns brighter after that laugh. 

* * *

In the end, it comes down to the same place where it started.

They’re on the way back to his grandma’s, like every other Friday afternoon. Lucas’ mama doesn’t live there anymore, and it used to make Lucas flinch every time they passed his former apartment, at the beginning, just after they had taken her to the facility. 

He’d cry in Eliott’s arms when they got home, drowned by his own guilt, for not helping her more when he should have, for a lot of things, and it took him a long time to understand it was never his fault. But eventually, he got there, and now his face is only lit up by a grin when his grandma greets them at the door. They’re smitten with each other, it’s adorable to see. 

So they’re walking down the stairs in her grandma’s apartment building, and Eliott is so nervous he’s afraid his knees will give in under him, so he grips the railing until his knuckles turn white and hopes Lucas doesn’t suspect a thing. 

Knowing Lucas, he probably does.

And when Lucas is stopped by Eliott’s hand grabbing his, Lucas only smiles indulgently.

“It’s still early.” Eliott swallows past the lump of his throat. “How about we go check out the park we used to go to when we were kids? It’s been a while since we were there last time, I bet I can still last longer than you on the monkey bars.”

Lucas’ eyes crinkle at the ends. He watches Eliott wordlessly, holding his gaze, and there’s a million unspoken words in his eyes that leave Eliott breathless. 

But then he’s letting go of Eliott’s hand-

And he runs, screaming a “race you!” behind his shoulder.

Eliott laughs breathlessly before running after him. 

His legs are longer, but Lucas is faster, so in the end it’s a bit of a tie. He bumps their shoulders together playfully, and Lucas grins at him with a childish look in his face.

“You fucker.”

Lucas hums. 

“That’s not a way to treat your boyfriend.”

Eliott shakes his head, walking towards the sandbox. He sits on the wooden edge, watching as Lucas does the same, and nudges their knees together. 

“You used to be so sad every time I had to go home with my parents.” Eliott recalls fondly. He takes Lucas’ hand in his. It’s cold, because even after all these years Lucas has never mastered the talent of dressing himself accordingly to the weather. “Do you remember, when we’d sit here for hours, and we’d build castles of sand together?”

“I remember.” 

“And then one day you told me, that boys who married could nap together forever.” It comes out soft. Lucas squeezes his hand, and he feels a wet tingling sensation in his eyes. “Because you didn’t want me to leave, so I promised you we would get married, and then I’d never have to leave again.”

He hears a sniffle, and lifts up his head to see a lone tear falling from the corner of Lucas’ eye. Lucas smiles sheepishly when Eliott moves his free hand to catch it, nuzzling into his palm.

“And then ten years later, when you told me you didn’t want to get married, I think my heart broke. But then you said that you wouldn’t because you just didn’t get it, and that’s when I understood. Lucas,” Lucas' mouth parts, another tear falling down his cheek, and Eliott’s eyes fill with tears at the image. “Lucas, you had to grow up too soon because of a marriage that had fallen apart, and for that I’m sorry. You said you didn’t understand marriage, because what does it mean, anyway? A promise? What promise?”

Lucas’ smile turns wobbly, and his eyes are the shade of the sky blue crayon in his crayons box again, and Eliott’s hands are shaking as much as his own voice. 

“Here’s my promise: I promise to nap with you every day, for the rest of my life. I promise that I’ll be there, after a long day, or a long night, a hungover or the flu I’ll be there, waiting for you, and we’ll fall asleep together.” He slips off the sandbox, digging his knees into the sand. He swallows at Lucas’ sharp breath when he grabs the ring box from the pocket of his jacket. "So Lucas Lallemant, the boy across my grandma's hallway. My best friend, and the love of my life. Will you marry me?" 

And then Lucas is laughing hysterically with tears in his eyes “God fucking damn it Eli, you're holding the box the fucking wrong way." 

Eliott looks down, finding the ring facing him instead of Lucas, and despite of everything, he laughs. "Oh, fuck."

He laughs, and Lucas laughs, because they’re ridiculous, and it’s imperfect, and it’s them.

He fumbles with the box, rearranging it the right way. Lucas is still laughing a little, and he’s fucking gorgeous, even with red eyes and snot covering his face, he’s the love of Eliott’s life. "Take two: will you marry me?" 

"Of course I will." And then he’s sliding inside the sandbox with Eliott, nodding, clutching at Eliott’s jacket. “Of course I will, is that even a question? Of course I will, always.”

And Eliott thinks, 

Eliott thinks, that this is the easiest promise he's ever made.


	2. Eliott's question

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello so someone asked me how exactly eliott's conversation with his teacher went, back when he asked about the butterflies in his tummy.
> 
> here it is!
> 
> (if you catch the reference we can be friends)

Monday morning comes with faint rain and Eliott stepping on every puddle he finds on the way to school. By the time he gets there, his teacher is waiting for everyone at the door.

Eliott smiles brightly at him, waving with a cheerful 'hi!' before entering the classroom, because Monday mornings means they can sit on the carpet to share their weekend until it's lunch time.

Monday mornings are his favorite thing in the whole world. After Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, that's it. And then he remembers.

But Mr. Evans is already busy preparing the activities for the day by the time he gets to him, so he patiently waits until lunch time, repeating the question in his head again and again so he doesn't forget. When the teacher calls them for lunch, he waits until everyone's out of the room before timidly walking over to him.

"Eliott!" Mr. Evans exclaims. "To what do I owe the pleasure, little buddy?"

"I have a question."

Mr. Evans chuckles lightly, nodding. He bends down until he's Eliott's height. "Well?" He says encouragingly. "What's up?"

"I was wondering..." Eliott says nervously. He doesn't know why, but the words get stuck in his throat, and he feels his face heating up. "I was wondering, what's the name for this feeling in my tummy?"

Mr. Evans looks at him funnily. "You're gonna have to be more specific, Eliott." He huffs fondly, "Do you mean the word we learnt last week? Endearment?"

Eliott shakes his head.

"No, not that one! I remember that one!" He states proudly. He does remeber. He's good with words, says his mama. "But no, another one. It's like that, but... more."

"More?"

"Yeah! Like. Like, David, he has a car toy, and he likes it a lot, but the other day Sofi brought a big truck and it made David very happy, playing with it. So like that. It's big, but bigger."

Mr. Evans makes a thoughtful noise. "You mean when your stomach feels all funny and your heart goes thump, thump, thump?"

"Yes! Like that!" Eliott yells excitedly.

"Oh Eliott," Mr. Evans' face breaks into a wide smile. He ruffles Eliott's hair before standing up, and says "That's called love."

**Author's Note:**

> [come say hi!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sandalwoodhusbands)


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